Related Articles

"But life isn't normal if you've got 12-year-olds out every night drinking and creating a nuisance on the street with their parents either not knowing or not caring.

"In these cases, a bit of nannying with sticks and carrots is what the local community needs."

Harassed parents can volunteer for the taxpayer-funded schemes but those whose children have misbehaved or played truant can be forced to attend a 12-week programme to be advised on how to bring them up. If they refuse, they can be fined but the Home Office said more than 90 per cent were happy to join in.

The latest scheme involves appointing child care specialists who will act as consultants for more than 1,000 front-line social workers who can call on their help when needed.

John Reid, the Home Secretary, said: "Parents are the single biggest influence on a child's life but being a parent can be a difficult job and sometimes people need help to stop their kids getting into trouble. This is about acting responsibly and recognising that good parenting can be learnt."

Mr Reid said the alternative would be to do nothing about such families, with a future cost to society including thousands of pounds in court and social care fees.

Officials said the Government's approach - which draws on TV programmes such as Supernanny and Driving Mum and Dad Mad - was popular with the public.

An opinion poll commissioned by the Home Office indicated that more than half of those questioned considered poor parenting to be one of the "key causes" of anti-social behaviour;

Mr Davies said: ''Less than 12 months ago, Tony Blair said 'what I cannot do is raise someone's children for them'. Now it looks as though he is trying to do just that."

He added: ''We have seen countless anti-social behaviour initiatives announced before only to fail to make it beyond the headline.

"The public will be aware that Labour's flagship anti-social behaviour policy - the Asbo - has a breach rate of over 50 per cent.

"Will this be yet another headline-grabbing initiative from the Government, which will have to be abandoned when the implications of implementing it are actually thought through?"

Louise Casey, the co-ordinator of the Government's Respect Unit, said evidence showed that parenting courses worked "incredibly well".

She added: "We've got to do everything we can to make sure we're tackling both anti-social behaviour of today but preventing a new generation growing up with signs of anti-social behaviour."

Clare Tickell, the chief executive of children's charity NCH, said the initiative was "good news" but that more could be done. "Some of the parents we work with haven't had fantastic experiences with their own parents, and sometimes that goes back three, four, five, sometimes even six generations," she said.

"So they need some really basic skills and confidence and help to work out how to do it properly. A little help at a particularly difficult time can be hugely effective."

Paul Cavadino, the chief executive of Nacro, a crime reduction charity, said compulsory parenting courses were not the right way forward. "Many parents are at their wits' end to know how to control their children's behaviour," he said. ''They need support rather than a punitive approach."